


absence makes the heart grow fonder

by tadanoris



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M, literally just guanghong and phichit spoiling leo on his bday bc they luv him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 16:10:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11855109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tadanoris/pseuds/tadanoris
Summary: If there's anyone who deserves to be spoiled with lots of love and gifts, it's Leo de la Iglesia. Things might not go exactly like planned, but Guang-Hong and Phichit are set on making sure Leo knows how loved he is.A belated birthday fic featuring spicy soup, best friend kisses and boyfriend kisses, and only the best of accessories from Claire's.





	absence makes the heart grow fonder

Two days before his birthday, Leo gets sick.

It’s nothing serious, just an annoying cold coming at the worst possible time.

No one’s _actually_ surprised when Leo wakes up with a stuffy nose and mild fever; considering that he had fallen asleep on the roof for a couple of hours while he, Guang-Hong and Phichit had been stargazing the other night. The two others had escaped with only mildly sore throats, which were quickly healed by some cups of tea.

Leo had been the one to insist on giving Guang-Hong the entire blanket up on the roof, but Guang-Hong still feels a little guilty when Leo sneezes three times in a row and groans, obviously uncomfortable. Just about everyone in the household orders Leo to stay in bed and rest up, but the occasional cough can still be heard from his room.

“He’ll be fine,” Leo’s mom promises with a smile when she sees Guang-Hong sneaking worried glances towards the direction of Leo’s bedroom, “But it’s a shame you guys have to postpone your camping trip.”

“Might have to cancel it entirely,” Phichit comments, looking a little dejected. “We’ll both be going back home soon, and I might need a couple of days to shove my stuff back into the suitcases.” He gives Guang-Hong a look, “Good luck packing all the clothes you bought here.”

Guang-Hong has to hold back a groan. All those shopping trips they’d been on together had been fun; but he doesn’t even want to think about how much he’ll have to pay for all the excess luggage he’ll no doubt have. Curse his obsession with western clothing.

The three of them had spent the past month together, training at a summer camp not too far away from Leo’s house. However, with the new season approaching, it was soon time for Guang-Hong and Phichit to return to their respective countries. The camp itself had finished last week, but both of them wanted to stay a little longer to celebrate Leo’s birthday. It was the only birthday where it was possible for all three of them to celebrate together, so they knew they had to make the best out of it, even if Leo always insisted that there was no need to make a huge fuzz out of things.

Luckily, Leo already knew that there was no way he could stop both Phichit and Guang-Hong when they were so determined.

The plan had been perfect; a small, one-night camping trip out in the woods, drive back home on the actual birthday to have a tiny celebration at home, followed by a bigger celebration the next day with Leo’s family. Almost three full days to celebrate Leo’s birthday before Phichit and Guang-Hong went back home, only four days later.

They had all been excited for it, the birthday boy included. Leo didn’t actually camp all that often, but upon hearing that Guang-Hong had never gone camping before? Both Leo and Phichit had insisted that they go, even if it would be for just one night. Phichit wasn’t much of a camper either, but he had gone once or twice, back when he had lived in Detroit. The hilarious stories about his and Yuuri’s camping trips had been enough to convince Guang-Hong to come along.

But even with all the excitement about the trip, both Phichit and Guang-Hong refused to let Leo go outside with a cold. Leo had tried to insist that he was fine, but after a coughing fit that seemed to last forever, even he had to admit defeat.

“He’ll be fine,” Phichit repeats the words, smiling as he nudges Guang-Hong. “Resting an entire day will probably help him a lot, especially if I make him some of my special Tom Yum Goong!”

“What’s so special about it?” Guang-Hong asks.

“I put two extra chili in it. Guaranteed to unclog those sinuses.”

Leo’s mom looks amused, “Thank God I trained that boy to handle spicy food.”

 

\--

 

Half a bowl of Tom Yum Goong and a mug of ginger tea later, Leo is ordered back to bed again. He doesn’t need a lot of convincing, not looking much better than he had that morning. Guang-Hong is only barely able to stop himself from giving Leo a get-well-soon-kiss on the cheek, the redness on Leo’s face rivaling the blush always present on Guang-Hong’s own cheeks.

“Okay, so,” Guang-Hong starts once Leo is gone. His elbows rest on the kitchen table, hands clasped in front of his serious expression, looking like he’s about to solve a murder mystery. “We need a plan B.”

Phichit looks just as serious. “Operation Make Leo’s Birthday Good Even Though He Has A Cold.”

“Catchy.”

It takes Phichit a moment to answer. “Operation MLBGETHHAC for short.”

Guang-Hong somehow manages to keep his serious expression. Phichit is pretty sure it’s because of all those American action/crime movies he always watches. The boy definitely has the potential to become an actor like he wants to. “We need to make sure Operation ML...LH... We need to make sure Leo has a good time.” Guang-Hong speaks with unwavering determination, even as he stumbles over the name. Phichit forgives him for that-- the name is a work in progress anyway.

“So we definitely need cake. And possibly a piñata.” Phichit sounds serious.

Guang-Hong looks a little skeptical at that. “A piñata? You want to replace the camping trip with a piñata?”

“Yeah, can’t go wrong with a piñata! I already know Rosa is working on a piñata for the family party, but we could make our own version for Leo! Y’know, fill it with stuff he likes; new headphones, a CD, those weird lemon candies that no one likes except him because they’re rock hard-- We could decorate it ourselves too! And before you say, _But Phichit, making an entire piñata ourselves will be way too difficult--!”_

“Was that supposed to be an impression of me?” Guang-Hong shoots in, but is quickly ignored by Phichit, who keeps rambling. He’s on a mission now.

“--The piñatas me and my friends had were literally just easily breakable bowls with faces painted on them. Maybe Rosa has a vase lying around that she doesn’t like? We could paint something cool on it! You’re pretty good at painting, aren’t you?”

Guang-Hong looks a little lost. “...It sounds kind of dangerous.”

“Painting?”

“Breaking a vase.”

Phichit shrugs. “He’ll get a little adrenalin rush with his gifts. Piñatas are no fun if they’re not at least a little bit dangerous.”

“I don’t know if I want to give him an adrenalin rush when he has a cold. I don’t want him to pass out.”

Phichit hums, “...Okay, fair point. But we should still get him those gross candies.”

Guang-Hong smiles, “I already got that part covered.”

“Perfect! Okay, so he’ll get the candies without the piñata part-- still a little boring in my opinion, but it’ll have to do for now. Oh, we still need cake though.”

Guang-Hong’s eyes glint in the warm light of the kitchen lamp above them. “ _We_ should make the cake.”

“Yes!” Phichit agrees excitedly. “What kind of cake though? I know Tres Leches is his favorite but I’ve never tried making it before--” he pauses briefly, straightening up in his seat when he gets an idea. “Oh! Maybe I could make the one with the durian filling. He seemed to like it when I made it last year. Do you think there are any supermarkets here with durian jam?”

“At best, he _tolerated_ that cake. I’m not sure if he would want it as a birthday cake. And I’m _pretty_ sure Rosa wouldn’t be too happy about her kitchen stinking of durian.”

Phichit hums in agreement, leaning his chin on his hand. “Tres Leches and no piñata then? ...I guess we’ll just have to make it work.”

Guang-Hong grins, “It’ll be perfect, trust me.”

Phichit matches Guang-Hong’s grin with one of his own, liking the other’s confidence. “Operation Celebrate Leo’s Birthday By Giving Him Candy And A Stomachache will be a success.”

“That’s definitely not what you called the plan earlier.”

“It’s a work in progress.”

 

\--

 

The one good thing about Leo spending his days stuck in bed, is that it gives Guang-Hong and Phichit lots of time to prepare things. They try not to go too overboard since Leo still has a cold, but given that they are both rather passionate people (especially about Leo), they still have to go all out. At least as much as they can on such a short notice.

On the day of his birthday, Leo wakes up to the sound of singing as his family, Guang-Hong and Phichit pile into his room with cake. It’s already nearing noon so they know he’s gotten enough rest, meaning that they can sing _feliz cumpleaños_ loudly and off-key without feeling too guilty about waking Leo up. He still looks a little miffed when he’s startled awake, but once he realizes what’s going on, the annoyance is quickly replaced by disbelief and happiness.

“Blow out the candles!” Phichit cheers as Leo’s dad holds the cake closer to Leo’s face. His eyes are still puffy with sleep, hair messy and shirt crumpled, and Guang-Hong thinks he looks _perfect_. Adorable and very kissable.

Honestly, Leo really needs to hurry up and get rid of his cold so Guang-Hong can finally make up for all the kisses he’s missed out on.

The candles are blown out and cake is served, with everyone sitting around Leo’s room as they enjoy it. It’s a tight fit, but Guang-Hong thinks it’s perfect. He knows Leo is enjoying it, the grin on his face genuine as he listens to his sister explain how their dad had almost ruined the surprise by almost tripping up the stairs with the cake.

Leo always looks the happiest when he’s surrounded by the people he loves.

Once his siblings and parents file out of the room, both Phichit and Guang-Hong jump onto the bed, on either side of Leo. “Feliz cumpleaños!” Guang-Hong grins, and this time he’s unable to stop himself from planting a kiss on Leo’s cheek. Phichit is quick to follow with a kiss on Leo’s other cheek, earning chuckles from Leo.

“I can’t believe you guys betrayed me like that, working with my family against me.”

Guang-Hong’s grin only widens. “Really?”

“...Actually, I can believe it. Pretty predictable, I should have seen it coming.”

“In your defense, you were a bit busy coughing your lungs up,” Phichit comments. “Speaking of, how are you feeling? I swear we tried to go easy on you with all this, but it was hard not to get swept up in the mood. No matter what birthday song it is, it’s impossible not to yell it at the top of my lungs.”

“I noticed.” Leo seems amused. “I’m fine, much better than yesterday.”

“Does that mean you’re up for opening presents?” Guang-Hong asks.

“C’mon, I told you guys you didn’t have to get me anything--” Leo whines, looking somewhat embarrassed now. When it came to gifts, he preferred being the one giving them.

Guang-Hong and Phichit obviously didn’t care about that.

“And we told _you_ that we will get you something anyway, because not getting you something on your birthday would be criminal,” Phichit states, looking pleased with himself. “So are you ready for your presents or are you _ready_?”

Leo heaves a resigned sigh, though the smile on his face betrays him. “Lay it on me.”

Phichit proceeds to lay it on him. Literally. He plops a paper bag on Leo’s lap, the top covered in an extensive amount of bows and glitter.

It’s perfect, dropping tiny flakes of glitter on Leo’s bed. He doesn’t mind at all.

“I decorated it,” Guang-Hong supplies.

“It’s no piñata, but I think it’s pretty close,” Phichit looks satisfied, gently straightening out one of the bows. “There’s a bunch of cool things inside, but you don’t get to wack the bag with a bat. A piñata without the adrenalin rush, just because your boyfriend here was too worried about you.”

Guang-Hong grins, “You can thank me later.”

“You can thank him during those three hours you guys have alone between mine and Guang-Hong’s flight.”

The teasing is too mild for Guang-Hong to actually feel embarrassed, and so he only chuckles as he nudges Leo. “Open it!”

Leo opens it, slowly and carefully ( _definitely_ not because he knows that Guang-Hong decorated it).

Peeking into the bag, he has to pause for a moment. He can already see the ridiculous amount of lemon candy covering the bottom of the bag. “You guys... This is way too much--”

This time, both Phichit and Guang-Hong nudge him, squishing Leo between the two of them. On the outside, it almost looks like they’re the ones most excited about the presents; though they both know Leo is going to love what they’ve gotten for him. “You have to get a better look!” Phichit urges. “C’mon, I wanna see you react to all of them!”

“Will you be uploading this on Twitter or Instagram this time?” Guang-Hong grins.

Phichit dismisses the question with a hand. “Neither. This moment is for us only.”

Leo grabs the first thing that catches his eye-- a CD with an unfamiliar band name on it. “...Los Campesinos?”

Guang-Hong brightens. “Remember that time we were walking around in Harbin and one of the stores was playing a song you really liked, but none of us could figure out what it was called?” He looks pleased with himself, excitement obvious in his voice as he says it all in one go. “I figured out what song it was and got the entire album!”

Leo looks touched, “You went through all that effort for me?”

“Of course I did. Plus, it’s a really catchy song. The rest of the album seems pretty cool too. I think you’ll enjoy it.” Truthfully, Guang-Hong had been a little hesitant about getting Leo a CD for his birthday. Leo had always been the music expert between the three of them, but this music did seem like something Leo would like, and Guang-Hong knows how much music means to Leo. Finding the album had required some detective work, but seeing Leo’s smile made it all more than worth it.

“This is already a perfect present.” Leo sounds so grateful and humble, Guang-Hong can’t help but sneak another kiss on the cheek before leaning his head on Leo’s shoulder.

“There’s still more left,” Phichit reminds him, obviously eager to see Leo react to the rest of the things, so Leo reaches into the paper bag again. He grabs a tiny pouch made out of shiny fabric, the top closed off by a string of ribbon. Carefully, he pulls at the string and pours the contents out in his hand. Three little cellphone accessories shaped like animals tumble out. They remind him of the ones his little sister used to collect.

“Matching cellphone charms!” Phichit chirps. “I’m kind of disappointed in us for not getting some earlier.”

Guang-Hong carefully flips over the charms so that Leo can get a better look at them. “Lion for you, panda for me, and hamster for Phichit!”

“We made sure to choose ones that aren’t dust plugs, because we know your headphones are always plugged in anyway,” Phichit explains.

Cutesy types of accessories like these are definitely more Guang-Hong and Phichit’s style, but that doesn’t mean Leo doesn’t think they’re adorable too. “I love them. I’m going to name this little guy Benjamin. Benjamin the Lion.”

“I named mine the Destroyer,” Guang-Hong says, picking the panda charm up with two gentle fingers, offering no explanation for his choice of name. Somehow, Leo thinks it fits the little panda charm.

Phichit takes his own charm, quickly attaching it to his phone, watching it dangle with a satisfied with a grin. “Claire’s has the best charms. We’ll have to go back there one day to get matching necklaces too.”

“I’m pretty sure it might choke me since I don’t have the neck of a twelve year old girl but sure, why not,” Leo says. He carefully puts the charm back into the pouch for now, ready to be attached to his phone once he’s gone through all the presents.

Leo reaches into the bag again, this time pulling out something wrapped in bubble wrap. Phichit seems particularly excited as Leo begins pulling it all off, revealing an elaborately decorated frame.

Leo doesn’t know how, but Phichit has somehow managed to decorate the frame with pieces of fabric that look almost exactly like the ones used for their respective short program outfits from last season. There’s even sparkles and buttons attached, making it easy to recognize each of the outfits; sparkly black fabric with a pink ribbon in one corner; different shades of red with golden sequins in another corner; yellow fabric with orange ribbons and sparkles in another. In the final corner, _SEASON 2016_ has been formed by colorful foam letters. The entire thing looks like it’s been puked on by a glittery rainbow, but somehow all the colors work together-- possibly because all the combinations mean something to Leo.

He loves all their skating routines, loves their overly sparkly outfits, loves how much fun it had been to skate at a senior event together for the first time.

In the center of it all lays the picture that’s been framed; one of the many selfies they had taken together at last season’s Cup of China. Their grins are genuine, like they had all been mid-laugh-- so different from the pictures the journalists had taken of them. Leo’s grin is a little askew, Guang-Hong is squinting so much it looks like his eyes are closed, and Phichit’s hand is just a blur in front of his mouth.

Leo thinks it’s perfect. As if the CD hadn’t been cool enough-- this is definitely pushing him dangerously close to crying.

“You made this?”

Phichit looks pleased himself. “Sure did. I was peeling glue off my hands for ages afterwards.” He pauses, smile softening. “I almost chose another picture since this one is kind of blurry but... I think it looks nice.”

“It’s perfect,” Leo agrees and he feels Guang-Hong nod against his shoulder. Leo doesn’t know how else to express his gratitude for the gift-- it’s obvious that Phichit has put an immense amount of effort into it. Even the picture alone would have been enough for him, as it was a reminder of one of the best days of his life. He might not have done well at the event itself, but Guang-Hong, Phichit and the simple joy of skating a program he had choreographed himself had made it all worth it.

“And you still got one more thing to go,” Phichit reminds him again, giving a soft smile.

Leo breathes a laugh. “You guys really want me to cry, huh.”

“That is the goal, yes,” Phichit says and Leo reaches into the bag once again. He grabs the only thing left that isn’t a lemon candy, a large and thin object that it only takes him seconds to realize what is.

“A vinyl?” Leo flips it over in his hands, gasping when he sees the name. “A _Matt Cab_ vinyl!?” He really looks like he’s seconds away from crying now.

“Yup! It was actually pretty fun trying to find that one,” Guang-Hong says.

Phichit’s expression turns serious. “Had to search through Los Angeles’ seamy underbelly to find it. Pretty sure we would have gotten our kidneys stolen if we had stayed a second longer.”

Guang-Hong nods, still smiling. “And then we got Starbucks afterwards.”

“There’s nothing quite like an overpriced green tea latte to relax after a long adventure.” He shifts his focus back to Leo, who’s still looking at the vinyl in his hands. “Don’t worry though. No internal organs were stolen while we tried to find it. Though Guang-Hong _did_ get a brain freeze from the frappuccino.”

“It was a dangerous mission, I had already anticipated the possible injuries,” Guang-Hong says.

Leo finally manages to speak up, his lips curved into a small smile. When his gaze moves up to look at Guang-Hong and Phichit again, his eyes look a little shinier than before. “Thank you so much. You guys don’t know how much this means to me-- man, this is way too much. The vinyl and the CD and the frame, even the candy...”

“We made cake too,” Guang-Hong interjects. “Put lots of blackberries on top, just how you like it.”

“It might not be as good as your mom’s cake, but it’s made with just as much love,” Phichit grins.

Leo is silent for a moment, before he lifts one hand to his face. “Now you’ve done it. Both of you--”

Phichit doesn’t see the tears at first, hidden from sight as Leo’s hair covers some of his face. He hadn’t expected Leo to actually cry from all of this, but he can feel his heart swell with fondness for his friend as Leo wipes his eyes with a sheepish smile. Despite being a year older than Leo, Leo’s always been the responsible mom friend in their little trio. Phichit’s a bit too reckless and excitable, though that doesn’t mean he don’t care for his friends. He truly do love both Leo and Guang-Hong. “You deserve to be spoiled once in a while, especially when you’re stuck in bed on your birthday,” he says, leaning on Leo’s shoulder.

Guang-Hong nods his agreement, reaching up to gently tuck a strand of hair behind Leo’s ear. Leo drops his hand in his lap again, letting Guang-Hong wipe his cheeks. “You’re always doing so much for us. This was the least we could do for you.” He leans forward, gaze meeting Leo’s, eyes filled with nothing but love. “It might not be as cool as a camping trip, but I really hope you enjoy the gifts.”

Their words only serve to make more tears fall from Leo’s eyes. He looks both embarrassed, touched and happy, a cocktail of positive feelings. A quiet little laugh escapes him, “This is perfect, even better than the camping trip would have been. Thank you so much. I... don’t think I can even begin to explain to you guys how great these gifts are-- how great you guys are.”

Phichit grins, “You can tell us over another slice of cake-- wait, Guang-Hong, why are _you_ crying?”

Leo looks over to Guang-Hong to see that there are indeed tears in his eyes. Guang-Hong quickly begins to wipe them away, but the damage has already been done. He can only feel more tears coming as Leo wraps an arm around him. Making Guang-Hong cry has always been easy, be it happy or sad tears. This time, it was definitely happy tears.

“I just really love my boyfriend,” he sniffs, leaning into Leo’s touch.

Phichit can’t stop himself from laughing at the pair. They really are perfect for each other, and he can only feel fondness and happiness for them. “I really love your boyfriend too,” he smiles with bubbles of laughter in his voice, wrapping an arm around Leo’s shoulders and barely managing to ruffle Guang-Hong’s hair. “Happy birthday, Leo.”

**Author's Note:**

> (posting for the second time bc i made a mistakey oops)
> 
> the song guanghong found for leo is We are Beautiful, We are Doomed by Los Campesinos!, and the title of this fic is taken from that song! the song is from an album with the same name. also matt cab is the singer of Still Alive
> 
> a late but much needed birthday fic for best boy leo! thank you to the lovely slay for giving me tips on how to write leo and letting me take inspiration from her leo muse, and thank you to best beta isababe for putting up with my shit and being generally wonderful????
> 
> hmu on twitter @ tadanorisera for more sns trio content god i love them so much


End file.
